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“You’d care if I fucked Bailey.”

And I look at him as if I haven’t the faintest idea what he means. “You wouldn’t do that,” I say with a shrug.

“I did,” he scoffs.

“Sure, you did,” I chuckle.

“Why wouldn’t I? Because we’re bestfriendsand I know how much you’re obsessed with him? That’sexactlywhy I went out and fucked him.” He flushes pink with frustration and damn if it isn’t cute on him.

“Honestly, it never even occurred to me that you two were meeting up for sex, which is why I didn’t care. I know you don’t likehim. You said you likedme. Guess not. Oh, well.”

Jess lets out a long sigh, visibly deflating. “We didn’t,” he grumbles.

“Didn’t what?” I ask with a wide smile aimed right at him.

“We chatted, mostly. He’s thinking about getting some goats. You know, milk and honey. Asked me if I’d be willing to help out short term since he’s all alone up there on his farm.”

“See? I had no reason to doubt you,andI was right. Has nothing to do with Bailey.”

Jess stays quiet while he finally slams the sticker gun and starts clicking tags. “Why didn’t you tell me thatyouwere going to be helping him?”

“Uh… because I didn’t think you’d mind me sparing ten minutes to assist another small business?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” he grumbles.

“Well, why didn’t you tell me thatyoumade plans with him?”

“To piss you off,” he cackles. “Clearly, that backfired.”

“Oh, Jess.” I set my empty basket down and go over to him. “That’s only because I trust you.”

When I reach him, Jess looks simultaneously relieved and embarrassed. He exhales, but he keeps his eyes cast down to what he’d been doing only a moment ago but has since stopped. I tilt his chin up with a smile and bring him closer for a kiss. His lips part and he wraps his free arm around me. We can’t stand here at the back of the store and make out for the rest of our shift, tempting as it sounds. So I pull away, and Jess laughs to himself before stickering my chest with a price tag.

“Damn. You calling me cheap?” I chuckle.

Jesse shrugs and laughs harder.

I pull him closer to me again. “Say you’re coming to my place after work.”

“Yes.” Jess pecks a kiss on my lips and smiles before going back to stickering.

The door dings as a customer enters, so I head to the front to cover the register. A girl close to my age smiles back when I greet her, then resumes wandering around. She loads up her basket with jam, then comes to the front only moments later.

I’m about to start ringing when she smiles up at me. “Do you happen to know when Cheryl’s opening the sugar shack this year?”

“Uhhh… no, but I’ll ask.”

I lean away from her and call for Jesse. He appears right away from the back of the store, but before I can repeat the question about the boss’s daughter opening the sugar shack for the season, my customer abandons me.

“JC!” She runs right over to Jess and flings her arms around him.

“Andrea. Didn’t know you were back in town.” Oh, and right about now, Jess looks like he wants to crawl into a hole and die.

“Gosh, when he said Jesse, I wasn’t even expecting you. I’ve known you as JC for so long, I almost forgot that’s your name.” She chuckles, but Jess only laughs nervously along with her.

“Do you remember how in high school, you tried getting everyone to start calling you by your middle name?” She pauses for another fit of giggles. “Cassius, like the boxer.”

What.